Living room window view

One of the items for this scavenger hunt was to draw something we would see on a walk. Well, I walked to and from work and around my apartment complex and didn't see anything I really wanted to sketch until I walked in the living room and saw the tiny leaves of the oak clump outside my living room window lit up in the late day sun. I did apply a little bit of artist perogative and changed what is the roof of the building above me to a mountain. It really isn't too visible from my windows, just a hint of roof shape and I thought it provides the same kind of background shape and mass that a mountain would, so voila! a mountain came into being!

Kitty ears and a Ball

Thomas the cat was dozing with his loopy yarn covered ball, so I sketched them for two of the scavenger hunt picks, ears and a ball. A little different perspective than I usually choose!

Aqua/blue Bottle Vase

While I have a number of vases, my favorite vases are old bottles. I have a small collection of pleasingly shaped and colored aqua/blue bottles, so that is what I chose for this scavenger hunt item. I didn't ink this one in but I may go back and do that yet as it seems a bit unfinished to me.

My sketching tools and a self portrait

Managed to get three of the scavenger hunt items into this drawing. My favorite drawing tools: I use a Pentel Quicker Clicker (old style with the straight barrel that I prefer) is what I do the initial sketch with. Then I fill in with watercolors using my Windsor Newton Pocket Watercolor set ~ well used and very messy looking! ~ and a Cotman watercolor brush. Once the watercolor is dry, I go back and ink in where I want with a Micron pen. The sketchbook is the second hunt item. I use a Holbein Multi-Drawing Book/OF, which is about 5 x 7" and has paper that can take watercolors and multi-media. I like it because it is small, tucks easily in my travel bag, and I can fold the previous pages and front cover directly behind the current sheet so I don't have floppy pages blowing about. And then it ties shut with a nifty bit of twill tape built into the book. Great travel sketchbook!

And last item for the hunt in this picture is my self portrait. Sort of! Portraits aren't my strong suit and I ended up making myself look both younger (easy to hide that gray hair!) and thinner (I'm working on it! Have lost 50 lbs since October 06!) and then, the ink pen decide this was the time to get blotty on me so where I was trying to put very light hints of ink, I got spotty blotches. Oh well! Had fun anyway. You can judge for yourself how I did by comparing the photo at left taken a few months ago. I've lost another 15 lbs since then!

House Finch

I just hung this bird feeder on Sunday and already (Tuesday morning) it has visitors! He was even kind enough to sit still long enough for me to sketch him!

Breakfast!

Drawing breakfast was a challenge in more ways than one. First, I was HUNGRY! Second, note to self: BUY MORE MILK! Third, by the time I actually got to eat my cereal, what milk there was had made the cereal soggy. But the tea was good! Painting the bowl was interesting as it is hand thrown pottery with a varigated soft green glaze. Nothing even about the bowl nor the color, making it hard to get the shape and color accurate.

Twisted Table Leg

This old oak table has been a favorite of mine for years. Its twisty legs were the perfect challenge to sketch for a table leg. I also wanted to include some other items for the scavenger hunt in this so included a mushroom cap, a map and the buckle of my watch!